The present invention relates generally to pallets, and more specifically, to pallets for supporting liquid containing industrial containers or drums, the pallets further providing a containment volume for accumulating spillage from the containers.
There are many different types of pallet structures known in the art for supporting heavy containers or drums, particularly those containing hazardous liquids. Such containers are usually bulky and can be of substantial weight, requiring that the pallet configuration be capable of buttressing heavy loads. To facilitate handling, these pallets must be compatible to facilitate handling for use with a forklift or other lifting apparatus. Because the containers can rupture or leak, the need to adequately contain any liquid spillage has been recognized and addressed by the production of relatively complex and heavy designs, most of which are often difficult and expensive to manufacture.
Examples of pallets which satisfy these concerns may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,092,251 and 5,020,667. In both of these patents, a pallet assembly is comprised of a basin and a platform. The basin has a bottom arrangement which forms a plurality of feet for supporting the pallet on a support surface, and which forms slots to receive the tines of a forklift for transport. The platform is constructed and arranged for supporting a plurality of containers above the basin and permits any spillage from the containers to drain into the basin. In this regard, the platform in the '251 Patent has a nominal wall thickness with an undulate cross-section forming a plurality of peaks and troughs. In the '667 Patent, the platform is arranged in a grating configuration comprised of a plurality of spaced bars interconnected in cross-section and shaped to selectively direct spillage into the basin. These structures suffer from disadvantages in that their respective platform arrangements do not always provide enough support for the containers, the lack of which can result in the containers sliding on the platform during forklift operations, and can present an occupational hazard. Moreover, the platform structures utilized in these pallet configurations can be easily damaged during removal of the platform from the basin.
Other pallet configurations may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,413,737 and 4,029,023. These references teach pallets which are unitarily molded with a plurality of load-bearing walls and hat-sections for strength and stiffness. These pallets accumulate liquid spillage in pockets defined by the structural sections. Similar to the pallets disclosed in the '251 and '667 Patents, these designs suffer from the same disadvantages in that the containers are not adequately supported to prevent them from inadvertently shifting during handling or transport.